Home Depot fires veteran for trying to stop shoplifters

'In the Army, they train you to do things like that'

Published: 07/17/2017 at 1:36 PM

(KTRK) –PEARLAND, Texas — A 70-year-old veteran working at a Home Depot store tried to stop shoplifters taking thousands of dollars worth of merchandise, but his attempted intervention cost him his job.

Jim Tinney saw three men trying to run out of the store carrying tool sets last month. He said he reacted on reflex and threw a paint roller extension toward one shoplifter’s feet. The shoplifters weren’t hurt and got away.

“In the Army, they train you to do things like that,” Tinney said. “I just automatically went like this and threw the stick at their feet.”